1404 



The Cornell Reading-Courses 



i^r*=^*f- 



with a knife, such as an ordinary butcher knife or an asparagus knife. 

 The stalk obtained is generally 3 or 4 inches of green growth above ground, 

 with a so-called " cat's paw " on the end, and 4 to 5 inches of whitish 

 stalk that has grown below ground. The stalks should not be cut after 

 July 1. 



The best varieties of asparagus are Giant Argenteuil, Palmetto, Con- 

 over's Colossal. 



Beans 



Beans thrive best on a warm sandy loam. Soils rich in nitrogen are 



not best suited to the profitable growing of beans, owing to the fact that 



plants grown on such soil will have a tendency to produce too much leaf 



and stem growth at 



the expense of the 



crop of pods. Beans 



are well suited for 



rotation with other 



garden vegetables, as 



they do not exhaust 



the soil of plant food. 



Beans in heavy clay 

 Fig. 35.— A type of garden cultivator do not give satisfac . 



tion ; after a rain the soil forms a crust that may prevent the seedlings from 

 coming up evenly, and the little leaves containing the stored food for 

 the development of the plant are likely to be torn from the stem in being 

 pushed through the crust. Beans are tender plants and will not stand 

 frost; therefore the seed should not be planted too early in the spiing. 



Beans may be divided into two classes: bush beans, or those having 

 a bush-like growth; and pole beans, or those that require support. Bush 

 beans may be planted in rows 18 inches apart where hand tilling is given. 

 The seed should be covered not more than 1 inch deep, and less if the 

 soil is very wet. The plants should be 3 to 4 inches apart in the row. 

 They may, however, be planted in hills, that is, with three to five seeds 

 clustered together every 12 to 15 inches in the row. Frequent shallow 

 stirring of the soil is required; this destroys all weeds and maintains 

 a loose soil surface and a mulch to conserve the moisture in the soil. Pole 

 beans are generally grown in hills around a pole, receiving their name 

 from this method of planting. They may be grown, however, in rows 

 on a trellis. Pole beans are climbing beans and should be thinned so 

 that they have sufficient space to produce the maximum crop. Their 

 requirements are similar to those of bush beans. 



Beans should be picked only when the bunches of pods are dry; if the 

 picking is done when the plants are wet, diseases may set in, making the 

 future pods undesirable. 



